Oh, How Very Clever
by icantdeletethisaccountargh
Summary: Had the circumstances been any different, Lily would have pulled her hands away, slapped him, and stormed off.


Lily prided herself in never being the damsel in distress. While she was most definitely a girl, she could take care of herself well enough, thank you very much. When emotions got the better of her, she would let them out in private when no one was awake to hear her. She left attention seeking to the girls that needed constant reassurance to verify themselves. She beamed at politeness, but there was a line- a line that divided politeness from help. Lily Evans didn't need anyone's help. She prided herself in being strong and independent.

And what James Potter had done not minutes ago had crossed the line. He had taken that curse- physically absorbed it into his body- when Lily was more than capable of producing an impressively efficient shield charm (as a muggle-born ought to in such times of unrest). James had interfered, yelling at the laughing, masked Slytherins when he had turned the corner and hear what was going on. Lily was all for friends standing up for friends, but to _push her out of the way_ instead of letting her take care of it and had landed himself a bed in the Hospital Wing. She gave a quick account to McGonagall and hurried off to the common room to get her wits about her. The common room was blessedly empty; on such a bright day if students weren't in class, they were out enjoying the weather. She fell into the couch closest to the empty fireplace.

Something rose up inside of her that she didn't quite understand. She called it anger for lack of a better word even though she knew quite well that it was very far from it. She was close to crying, and that was ok because she was alone. What troubled her was _why_ she wanted to cry. Was it because James had come to her rescue when she didn't need rescuing? Or was it because he was now lying downstairs, unconscious and hurt and bleeding?

Lily also prided herself in her ability to sober up and dry her eyes when she heard the portrait door swing on its hinges. Whoever entered did so quietly and came up behind her.

"He's awake. Why aren't you with him?" She was surprised only by the fact that Sirius had pulled himself away from his best friend's side. "He asked for you- it's the least you could do."

Lily looked over her shoulder to glance at Sirius leaning heavily on the back of the couch. "I didn't ask for his help," she said finitely. Sirius came around to stand in front of her with his arms wide and his face tense.

"He just took a curse for you and you won't even go _see _him because you didn't _ask_ him to?" He sounded so angry that it caught Lily off guard. She held her breath to hold the tears back but met his fiery grey eyes. "James risked himself because for some reason you're that important to him and you can just sit here and not feel _anything_. You don't even care!"

That hit her. Lily could almost physically feel the words he was throwing at her. Her jaw was trembling and her cheek twitched with the force she was using not to cry. But Sirius kept staring at her with those harsh, accusing eyes and Lily's breath caught in her attempt to control herself. Something in Sirius softened when he realized how his words were affecting her.

"He shouldn't have done that," she said in a weak last defense. "He shouldn't have and now he's _hurt_."

And she finally understood the feeling.

She felt guilty and horribly worried and so scared that she wanted to scream.

Why did he have to go and get hurt?" she asked him in earnest. Sirius held out his hand and Lily took it without really thinking. He pulled her up and into a tight, comforting hug.

"He needs you, Lils. Go see him."

Lily kept her face in his shoulder, taking in shaky breaths to compose herself. It took a few minutes for her to build up the courage to pull away and dash for the door. She ran, flying down the stairs and sprinting down the corridor, stopping only to creep into the Hospital Wing. She was careful to be quiet in case Madame Pomfrey had strict rules about visitors. By some stroke of luck, the only one in the long, white room was the messy haired boy who was lying on his side, facing away from her. The only movement was that of the fluttering curtains. The only sound came from her shoes clicking on the tiles. Her heart was hammering against her ribs like a hummingbird. Why was she nervous? Only minutes ago she had been seething. What was going on with her?

Lily snuck up carefully to see if he was sleeping. The last time she had seen him, he had fallen back into her, blood all down his front while the two Slytherins had run away. She sat in the chair that was already at his bedside. His shoulder rose tall from the bed; Lily took the time she was given to take in the finer details of his body that everyday life didn't grant her. Bandages were bound around his stomach and he wasn't wearing a shirt. His visible arm, strong from throwing a Quaffle, had a heave tan line, much like the one on the back of his neck. Vaguely, Lily mused at how pale he naturally was.

Or maybe that was because of blood loss…

"Hey," she whispered. For a second she thought he was asleep, but then James rolled onto his back and a lazy smile grew on his face.

"That's the face that'll make me feel better," he joked weakly. He winked at her and reached out to try and stroke her cheek. Lily swatted it away and he seized the opportunity to hold her hand instead. She struggle a little but let him have that one comfort at the peaceful expression that crossed his face.

"What did Madame Pomfrey say?" she asked still in a whisper; hospitals always made her feel like she needed to be quiet. James let out a tiny groan.

"She said it doesn't look good… I," he coughed weakly, "I think she's talking to Dumbledore about sending me to St. Mungo's."

Her grip tightened. Lily was at a loss of what to say. She no longer felt the need to yell at him. In fact, quite the contrary, she was thankful. But 'thank you' didn't seem to be good enough for what he had done. Her other hand came up to hold James'. His smile widened and his eyes closed.

"Your hands are warm, it's nice," he mumbled. Lily swallowed hard.

"I don't know how to thank you," she whispered. James wiggled his fingers to stroke the side of her hand absent mindedly.

Very quiet and nonchalantly, he said, "I think a thank you kiss would make me feel worlds better."

Had the circumstances been any different, Lily would have pulled her hands away, slapped him, and stormed off. And even though she knew she shouldn't give in, she leaned forward over James to press her lips very lightly to his. He responded with more vigor than he had been able to speak. His free hand came up to hold the back of her head softly and Lily was sure he was kissing her far more deeply than was decent for a thank you.

A door opened somewhere out of site. Lily pulled away as fast as lightning and flattened her hair down to occupy her clammy hands.

"Mr. Potter!" Madame Pomfrey sang out. Lily hung on to her every word for news of his treatment. "What are you still doing here? I said you were free to go." She grabbed something from her desk and left again.

What.

Lily's head snapped back around to find James throwing his shirt on and hopping up from the bed. She stared at him hard as he buttoned up his shirt with that stupid smile on his face. If his grin got any bigger… well, she'd just have to punch him. In fact…

"You stupid git," she yelled, taking up his abandoned pillow and smacking him in the shoulder. "You arse, you were just tricking me!" _Smack, smack, smack!_ "What's wrong with you?" James held up his hands, his smile melting away as he cried out in pain. Lily dropped the pillow instantly, worry showing clearly on her face. "Oh Merlin, I'm so sorry are you o-_hrmpf_."

James had hooked his hand around the back of her neck to kiss her again. He pulled away quickly, laughing as he dashed out of the Hospital Wing before she could catch on.

"_Potter!"_

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><p>Pages: 3<br>Words: 1,475  
>Disclaimer: Don't own<br>Notes: Popped out another one this morning! Hooray!


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